Are you asking yourself, what is peak 8? Or telling yourself you can’t last through high intensity interval training?

Let me put your mind at ease, if I can do it you can do it! Your max is just that, your max. So when you reach it, and you will, you have achieved the purpose of the class. Is it hard? Absolutely. Is it worth it? You bet!

You see the science that supports HIIT and peak 8 is pretty amazing. Anything that will stimulate the natural HGH or youth hormone is worth a shot. HIIT will give you the competitive edge with fat loss you are looking for. Better yet in our classes we are only spending 30 minutes a day doing it. That’s all it takes to lose significant inches and fat!

We will also spend time working on those lateral muscles that get over looked by nearly every trainer and training program out there. This will reduce injuries and promote balance and stability.

Holiday melt down is a class with fat loss guarantees but maybe even more amazing is the way it will make you feel. Endorphins, confidence and a trimmer more energetic you. That’s a class worth attending, and if you are worried about not making the class do to your holiday schedule we are going to start the class for 8 wks after Christmas.

Also we encourage you to check out Dr. Mercola’s research on peak 8. Go to mercola.com and type peak 8 into the search.

Calcium alone does a lot for the body. It builds and maintains bones and teeth; regulates heart rhythm; supports normal sleep patterns; helps regulate the passage of nutrients in and out of the cell walls; assists in normal blood clotting; helps maintain proper nerve and muscle function; supports normal blood pressure as well as normal blood cholesterol levels. A deficiency in calcium, on the other hand, may result in arm and leg muscle spasms, softening of bones, back and leg cramps, brittle bones, rickets, poor growth, osteoporosis (a deterioration of the bones) and/or tooth decay.

Vitamin D alone also has a positive impact on health. Vitamin D supports immune system, pancreas, heart, blood, cellular, muscle, bone and bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach, uterine and brain health—and can positively impact 36 bodily organs.

Put them together, though, and it’s good news for those of us who are intentional about getting enough calcium and vitamin D in our diets. Not only do we get to enjoy the numerous benefits of this dynamic duo—including strong bones and teeth—but it appears that adequate levels of dietary calcium and vitamin D may also help control weight.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is among the studies indicating the weight benefits of calcium and vitamin D. It says that higher dietary calcium intake and increased serum vitamin D are related to greater diet-induced weight loss. Here’s what happened: The researchers found that adults who drank the most milk (about 2 glasses a day) and had the highest vitamin D levels at 6 months, lost more weight after 2 years than those who had little or no milk or milk products—nearly 12 pounds of weight loss, on average.

But that’s not the end of the story. Researchers also found that each additional 6-ounce serving of milk or milk products (about 3/4 of a glass of milk) was associated with 10 pounds of successful weight loss above the average, at 6 months. What’s more is that the researchers also discovered that vitamin D levels alone affected weight loss success—and milk and milk products were the top contributors to vitamin D in the diets.

Got milk, anyone?

Not a fan of milk, but still interested in calcium and vitamin D weight benefits? In a separate study, results indicated that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements may help overweight women lose weight and body fat—but only for those women whose calcium levels from food was already low. Over a period of 15 weeks, women whose dietary calcium levels were low took the calcium and vitamin D supplements and lost an average of 13 pounds—compared to a loss of 3 pounds in the control group.

The results were published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Senior researcher Dr. Angelo Tremblay, of Laval University in Quebec, Canada, says, “Our hypothesis is that the brain can detect the lack of calcium and seeks to compensate by spurring food intake, which obviously works against the goals of any weight loss program. Sufficient calcium intake seems to stifle the desire to eat more.” More studies need to be done, however, to confirm this, agree the scientists.

In the meantime, there seems to be a connection between calcium and vitamin D and weight loss. One reason may be that calcium and vitamin D help to properly assimilate food and to regulate normal blood sugar levels. When there is a calcium deficit, however, the body increases its production of synthase, a fatty acid enzyme that converts calories into fat. In some instances, calcium deficiency can increase synthase production by up to 500%.

No matter what the future findings, you’ll want to be sure you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D. There are just too many benefits for you to pass them up.

www.extraordinaryhealth.com

The process of fermentation, also known as culturing, creates probiotic-rich cultured food and has been used for thousands of years. In the past, our food contained much more good probiotic bacteria than our food does today, and this lack of good bacteria in our diets can decrease gut health, nutrient absorption, and overall health.

Probiotics help support healthy digestion and weight, metabolic and immune health, nutrient assimilation, as well as the production of B vitamins and certain enzymes. It’s time to start living the diverse cultured life once again with probiotic-rich foods like kefir (which means “feel good” in Turkish), yogurt, fermented cheeses, cultured cream, fermented vegetables and more.

And speaking of kefir…back in 1908 Elie Metchnikoff, known as the “Father of Probiotics,” wrote in his book The Extension of Life that the secret to extraordinary health and longevity found among those in the Russian Caucasus Mountains was kefir—the cultured milk consumed by the Bulgarian people living there.

Kefir is made by fermented milk with kefir grains, which are a mass of good bacteria (probiotics) and yeasts. Kefir is a healthy drink because it contains a variety of probiotics, yeasts, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. For example, one form of wild kefir grains contains 22 different probiotic strains. Wow!

Likewise, the type of yogurt used by the people of the Caucasus mountains, also known as Bulgarians, contains 10 lactic-acid producing bacteria (probiotics). What may be even better news is that these probiotics—including one called Lactobacillus bulgaricus noted by Metchnikoff and used by the Caucasus mountain people—are still available today.

Now that’s a tradition worth handing down!

There’s plenty of power in having a variety of probiotics, too. As many as 500 species of bacteria reside in your digestive system—some good, some bad—with your diet and lifestyle deciding if the good bacteria or the bad bacteria win out. In short, good bacteria can help crowd out the bad bacteria—so the more, the merrier!

Interestingly, as people age, there is generally a decrease in the healthy bacteria as well as the diversity of good bacteria strains, so probiotic amount and diversity may become increasingly important as time goes on.

The truth is that there are literally hundreds of healthy probiotics with diverse health benefits, so be sure you’re culturally diverse by taking in an array of probiotics—including those from kefir and yogurt.
www.extraordinaryhealth.com

Food is fun, but overeating can be extremely hard on your heart–especially if you are not as healthy as you would like to be. This is an urgent message that we hope you’ll forward to all your loved ones.

Next week’s Thanksgiving Day launches us into the annual holiday eating season. Food is an integral part of holiday festivities with the likes of roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberries, green beans, mashed potatoes and of course, pumpkin pie!

Join us today as Leonard Smith, MD and I discuss just what happens in the body during a typical holiday “splurge” dinner. And join Monica and me later this week, when we’ll present The Holiday Splurge Diet–practical tips to make this holiday season one that advances you and your family toward Super Health! Make it your goal this holiday eating season to incorporate The Holiday Splurge Diet into your lifestyle during the 2010 holiday season!

Watch the video here
http://www.livingfuel.com/Heart_Health.aspx

By Ashley Dance

Most effective diets cut out bread completely. Generally, this is because the bread that is available to consumers today does not contain adequate nutrients and is so refined that it is not processed properly in the body. Specifically white bread or even other types of bread that are chiefly made with enriched flour are the culprits.
White bread is made by removing the bran and the germ of the wheat kernel, using only the endosperm. The germ and the bran are the parts that contain all the nutritious parts of wheat. Nearly 20 vitamins and minerals are lost by removing these from the flour. Don’t be fooled by “enriched” breads. Only five of those nutrients are added back in, and they are: thiamine, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin and iron. These were added back into the flour because of an emergence of vitamin deficiency diseases in our country like pellagra and megaloblastic anemia. However, these are a synthetic form of the vitamins and are not as easily absorbed by the body as the natural source. The fiber content of enriched flour is next to nothing. Your body reacts to it as if it were sugar because it is so quickly processed. Therefore it significantly raises blood sugar, which can be a serious problem for diabetics. Make sure you always read the ingredients on packaged breads because many labeled as “multi-grain” or “whole wheat” contain mostly enriched flour with only small portions of whole kernels. So what kind of bread can you eat? Sourdough and sprouted grain breads are best.
Sourdough bread is, first of all, delicious and it’s nutritious. Who knew? Sourdough bread is made from whole grain flour, wild yeast and water and is allowed to ferment for awhile. The yeast bacteria need food to grow and produce more of themselves, however, complex carbohydrates are not easy for them to digest. So they must produce enzymes to be able to digest the food source available to them. When all this is happening, carbon dioxide bubbles are released which causes the bread to expand and rise. This reaction creates lactic acid, acetic acid and ethanol (alcohol). Lactic acid contributes to better digestibility of the bread, just like with the bacteria in the beginning of the fermentation. Acetic acid adds flavor and is a natural preservative, lowering the pH level of the bread and retarding mold growth. So sourdough bread naturally has a longer shelf life than white bread without having to add in tons of chemical preservatives. When made with whole grain flour sourdough bread retains all the vitamins of the whole wheat kernel plus the added enzymes which help your body slowly digest the bread and receive all the nutrients.
So then what is sprouted grain bread? Essentially it is wheat that is allowed to germinate, or sprout, before it is ground up. The benefits of this are that enzymes are created, vitamin content is increased and anti-nutrients like phytic acid, which binds up minerals preventing your ability to fully absorb them, are neutralized. Sprouted wheat contains four times the amount of niacin and nearly twice the amount of vitamin B6 and folate as non-sprouted wheat. It also contains more protein and fewer starches than non-sprouted grain. Therefore, it does not raise the glycemic index as much making it better for those with blood sugar problems. Sprouted grains are not ground all the way into flour, so they are considered flourless, however the wheat berries do contain gluten. Sprouted grain breads are often made with several kinds of sprouts such as millet, barley, oat and even lentil and soy. A great brand of sprouted grain products is Food For Life‚Äôs Ezekiel 4:9 line. This bread was inspired by the scripture in the Bible, which says, ‚ÄúTake also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it…” So they did, and it‚Äôs so tasty! It is thick, hardy and grainy, but in a good way!
Knock useless white bread out of your diet and switch to grains that will actually help your body!

I know I get a raised eye brow every time people see this on my website or when they see our banner at events across the city. I know I have also wrote about this in previous posts, but I wanted to take time to maybe simplify it. Maybe I do that too much… Either way, it couldn’t hurt.

I believe that personal training should be really personal, duh! Right? Most trainers try and sell you a package and then put you through a number of workouts that they use or have “borrowed” from their CPT books.
Problem is they are built like a body builder or an elite athlete or worse they are not built at all, the YMCA is known for this. Unhealthy trainers are as much of a problem as “over done” trainers. The reason this is important is because you can tell a lot about a trainer and his/her technics by looking at their bodies. But you cannot do this if you don’t know some facts first, what facts? I’m glad you asked!

10 ways you know your trainer is up to no good.

- Your Trainer explains the calculations for figuring out how many calories you should be consuming on a daily basis.

This is funny to me because I hang out with trainers all the time, and they don’t count calories. They just don’t eat them! Zero calorie this and zero calorie that, it’s enough to make you crazy… Crazy about your food. This tends to turn people off of the nutrition part of their fitness journey, which in turn makes them work harder in the gym. This is how people burn out, they spend 20 minutes learning how to calculate but never anything else about their food or it’s content.

- Your trainer will talk about getting in their reps or sets during your work out.

Annoying because trainers who are worried about sets and reps are going to accidentally make you a body builder. Doing the big 3 all the time, bench press-squats-dead lifts, will only work for so many people, it’s not the way of getting toned. But it will ad mass, even if you are already big in those places.

- You see your trainer drinking a protein shake from a jug or a mix.

Not only are most protein mixes overly sweetened they are full of simple carbs, this will lead to extra fat storage if your not in the gym constantly. You are not a fat burning machine… yet, even if you were you wouldn’t want to burn out your filters (liver, pancreas, intestines and your stomach). Trying to burn stackers, stimulants, sweeteners, and artificial fillers. This will lead to further problems down the road for those trainers that range from Crohn’s disease to IBS as well as a slue of others. Besides that you need far less protein than what was previously thought, if there is anything I have learned about this industry of fitness, it is that it’s information is really out dated and in-accurate.

- If your trainer says “how does this feel?”

You trainer should test everything before having you attempt it, that’s an unsaid rule! I will never have anyone do something that wasn’t tested on myself or another trainer in a friendly game of “kill the trainer”. This is how we play… If your trainer hasn’t tried it than ask for something safer.

- Has your trainer ever told a story about being drunk, or being hungover?

This really annoys me! I have only ever been “drunk” once and that was on accident, but alas you have trainers telling their clients, by example, that it’s Ok to compromise on alcohol. Chances are they have never gone 40 days without it! I dare you to ask them, how them telling you about getting hammered will help you be inspired to lose weight or be strict with anything? Where is the inspiration?!

- Have you ever been told “this won’t put bulk on you”?

Well chances are with the out dated information out there your trainer may not even know that. I know this because I see it every day, trainers giving their clients heavy weights and making them do 3-5 sets of 15 reps with 2-5 minutes of rest in between. This is precisely how you put on bulk! Heavy weights and low reps with 15-30 SECOND breaks are far more effective at making your muscle dense not huge!

- Does your trainer eat organic?

This is more understandably a problem because of the lack of nutritional teaching and research from trainers and instructors of trainers alike. If you haven’t been told, you won’t do your research… I feel like when I tell my clients to go do their research they are more likely to do it. If you assume they will, they won’t. Organic foods are easier to digest which makes them a faster energy and less of a burden for the entire body when it comes to storage and free radicals in your blood.

- When the last time you were told to get off your knees during your pushups?

Why is this a question? Well, I firmly believe that if you are not pushing your clients with time lines and goals that are inline with their own, you are not doing your job. Telling my clients that they have two weeks to get from their knees to their toes with pushups is just one way I give them something to strive for. They immediately think that I’m crazy but most of them try to do it right then, when this happens they no longer get to do the knee pushups. It’s all about helping you beat your perceptions of your fitness level, all while pushing you to a new one.

- Does your trainer eat?

You probably don’t know this answer and you would probably hate to ask it for fear of ridicule. You would be surprised how many trainers run out the door in the morning grabbing only a sugar free latte’. They are supposed to be your source of trust on nutrition for the day. Breakfast is important but all meals are important, as well as what those meals contain. Whether you are eating 5 meals a day or sticking to 3 square, you ought to be able to follow your trainers example and not just there “advice”.

- Is your trainer rounded or defined?

This question is slightly more detailed than the others and will take some time to figure out. It starts with looking at their physique then graduates to their eating and snacking habits before it stops at their mental and spiritual health and well being. Why is the latter so important? Well that all depends on the client, it can be helpful if you feel the need to disclose some confidential information in a pre-workout rant and you want the confidence that your trainer is either giving you sound advice and will keep it confidential. Yes, you can tell if this is the case with your trainer, most trainers will listen when you need to rant but some of them will gossip right along with you. I think it’s important to be someone my clients can lean on for sound Biblical wisdom as it pertains to life. If that’s not for you than you will still benefit from the other talents we bring to the table as it were.
The physical part of this is related to your trainers muscle, is it round or angular? Because round isn’t defined dense muscle, they are no doubt strong but they may have no idea how to get you that “healthy”, ‘hollywood”, fit look you desire. Look closely to their before and after pics and see if you can spot any similarities in there past clients.

I make no apologies for the spiritual content of this site or the stance of this company and our relationship with God whom we believe to be sovereign. We will however apologize for the millions of mistakes the fitness industry and ourselves make on any given day. No body is perfect but we would like to think that we are balanced and holistic, as we have humbly helped scores of individuals in all areas listed in this blog as well as so many more. Please let us know how we can help you, it’s our passions that drive us.

I have a short list of supplements I feel are the “essentials” for health as well as some of my favorite ones that get me through the day. This list can be duplicated for you but that is assuming that you are healthy with no pressing health problems or medications.

1. My Hands down favorite is Primal Defense.
This makes me feel good after a bad meal or when I am out of town and feeling sluggish. I have this in powder form in my lovely smoothy every morning. It makes me feel like I can bench press the world…. Kind of.

2. Perfect Food Green Label
This is a concentrated green powder that is also available in a caplet. I feel like you can NEVER over do your greens and this will help you at least make it to your bare minimum if you are having trouble and exceed your minimum if you are doing ok with the green side of your diet.

3. Oceans 3 Cod Liver Oil
I like this one for brain function, joint support and it also helps my digestion. You know how good your omega 3-6 ratio can be if it’s right? Amazing, you should do some research on this you will be smarter for it.

Some of the things I just enjoy when I can, come from Garden Of Life and Living Fuel product lines. They are not as essential unless I am traveling then they are super important to me. I love to take
Living fuel Super Berry Ultimate and Super greens too.
They compliment each other really well and will save my stomach in sketchy eating situations where I know I will have to eat what I wouldn’t normally. We will slam a shake before a meal and this will help with getting the nutrient density that I wouldn’t otherwise.

Fuco Protein bars are a great go to snack for travel, in the car or on a plane, they are quick, clean and easy to digest for a full feeling that will get you through your travel session and then some. You should check these products out on our supplement site www.nashvillenutritionals.com or email as lifefitnessacademy@gmail.com for more info on the living fuel goodness. We use it because it is pure and tastes great. The benefits are awesome, so get you some of this goodness today.

If you would like a customized supplement consultation from one of our supplement specialist please call us 615-562-2633

extraordinaryhealth.com
All in all, it’s a pretty special vitamin—and not just for its blood-clotting ability or its role in supporting bone health and heart health. Vitamin K also benefits healthy blood sugar levels.

Here’s the lowdown: People with a higher dietary intake of vitamin K—especially vitamin K2—are significantly less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

But let’s back up the train a little bit.

Vitamin K refers to fat-soluble compounds called anphthoquinones. Vitamin K1, also called phylloquinone, is the natural, plant form of this nutrient, while vitamin K2, which goes by the name menaquinone, comes from healthy bacteria in the human gut as well as certain foods. Vitamin K3, called menadione, is the synthetic version of vitamin K.

Vitamin K1 is found primarily in dark-green vegetables like spinach and broccoli as well as fruits such as kiwi and avocados. In fact one serving of spinach or two servings of broccoli provide four to five times the RDA of K1, and most people do not get enough of this kind of vitamin K.

Vitamin K2 is found in meat, eggs and dairy products, and is also synthesized by the human body. K2 is the vitamin K that strongly supports bone and heart health, although K1 does as well. But there’s more to this special K—K2.

Vitamin K2 can be further categorized, including the MK-4 or the MK-7 variety. Most vitamin K found in the Western diet is of the MK-4 variety, but MK-7 is the most readily metabolized form of K2. It can be found most abundantly in natto, a fermented soy dish that’s part of the traditional Japanese diet. Natto is an acquired taste, though, so other sources of MK-7 include fermented foods like sauerkraut, fermented cheeses and dairy foods like grassfed butter and organ meats.

Interestingly, inadequate healthy intestinal bacteria supplies can keep a person from properly assimilating K2, so it’s a good idea to make sure your intestinal bacteria is sufficient by including plenty of fermented, probiotic-rich foods.

As far as K1 and K2 and blood sugar health, researchers found that both forms of vitamin K can support healthy levels of blood sugar. K2, however, is required in a lesser amount than K1 is. In short, vitamin K1 was needed at very high amounts to decrease diabetes risk, while each 10 microgram increase in vitamin K2 led to a decrease in diabetes risk.

Other benefits of this special K—K2—is that it is an excellent calcium regulator, able to move excess arterial calcium into bone tissue where it belongs and is needed, while removing it from the arteries where it doesn’t belong. Additionally, a shortfall of vitamin K2 can lead to arteriosclerosis and osteoporosis, while adequate K2 intake can support skin, brain and prostate health.

Pretty special, huh?

Our nation’s drinking water has become a surprising chemical soup.

Not too many months ago a New York Times article unveiled unwanted substances in our drinking water. According to the article, more than one-fifth of the nation’s water treatment systems have broken the Safe Drinking Water Act, leading to about nine million Americans being sickened.

Here are some of the substances the EPA has already found in our drinking water:

• Arsenic: A pesticide and wood sealant, arsenic can be deadly if ingested at high levels, while intakes of lower levels can put a person at risk for skin, liver, bladder and lung unhealth. More than 3 million Americans have been exposed to arsenic in their water since 2005.
• Uranium: Large amounts of uranium can lead to unhealthy kidneys. Three million Americans were also exposed to illegal amounts of this radioactive substance.
• Radium: At high levels, radium is carcinogenic and can affect bones, liver and breasts. Radium levels were 2,000 times the legal limit in some areas.
• Tetrachloroethylene: High exposure can lead to headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea, unconsciousness and even menstrual problems for women. Drinking water in Ramsey, N.J. has allegedly had illegal concentrations of this substance since 2004.
• Lead: Lead-tainted water can lead to physical and mental developmental problems for kids and high blood pressure and kidney problems for adults. You may want to check your water for lead content. The EPA’s threshold for lead is 0.015 parts per million.
• Prescriptions and Personal Care Items: Prozac, birth control, makeup and shampoo all make their way to our water supply, too, causing ecological harm and possibly threatening human health.

Additionally, atrazine, an herbicide widely sprayed on corn fields in Midwestern states like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi and Ohio, is said to cause human birth defects. “Atrazine … appears to have effects during critical stages of fetal development,” said Suzanne Fenton of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a former EPA researcher.

Atrazine can also cause reproductive defects in amphibians and fish, including lowered testosterone levels and fertility in male frogs—many of which were chemically castrated or even turned into females following exposure to the chemical. The EPA says a “safe” level for atrazine is 3ppb (parts per billion), but studies say that levels as low as 0.1 ppb can cause developmental and reproductive problems. You can see why levels of 30 ppb—ten times the “safe” level—would have some Illinois residents up in arms.

Who wants to drink these? Not me.

If you’re curious about how your drinking water measures up, you can go to the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html and check it out.

And in the meantime, get an inexpensive water filter. It can filter the “whacky” from your water.

extraordinaryhealth.com

From Mercola.com
According to a report in Science Daily, a new Canadian study shows that children exposed to high concentrations of manganese in drinking water performed worse on tests of intellectual functioning than children with lower exposures.

The results were published in an article in Environmental Health Perspectives.

While manganese is naturally occurring in soil and groundwater around the world, some of Canada’s groundwater contains an unusually high amount of it, giving the researchers an opportunity to study whether excessive manganese can adversely affect human health.

“We found significant deficits in the intelligence quotient (IQ) of children exposed to higher concentration of manganese in drinking water,” said lead author Maryse Bouchard.

Yet, some areas where lower IQs were reported also registered concentrations below current guidelines. In response to the study, some of the affected municipalities have already decided to install special filtration systems.

Sources:
Science Daily September 23, 2010
Environmental Health Perspectives September 7, 2010; [Epub ahead of print]

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

You probably know that manganese is an essential nutrient, but were you aware that when consumed in excess, manganese becomes a potent neurotoxin?

Studies on miners and steelworkers, for example, have shown that excessive exposure to manganese can cause manganese poisoning, Parkinson’s disease, and Wilson’s disease, for example.

Manganese occurs naturally in soil and can therefore be present in groundwater to a greater or lesser degree. Hence some people who drink well water could be exposed to higher naturally-occurring levels of manganese.

But there is another source of manganese that many people are completely unaware of, which may be even more significant than groundwater, and that is soy infant formula!

Soy formula is frequently used when a baby is allergic to milk, or if the parents are somehow convinced that soy is a healthier alternative. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth, because soy formula could easily be considered one of the most DANGEROUS food products on the market…

I always recommend breast feeding, if at all possible, but if you can’t, please educate yourself about the dangers of soy formula!

This is such an important issue because so many mothers end up using formula in lieu of breast feeding or after breast feeding for a short time, not realizing just how bad most formulas are for their baby’s health, particularly soy formula.

I’ve been concerned about this for a long time, and my team has now been working on an infant formula for an entire year. We still have about another year to go, but once we’re done we should be able to offer the best commercial infant formula available in the US.

Soy Infant Formula is LOADED with Manganese!

Yes, researchers have found that soybean plants absorb manganese from the soil and concentrate it, so that its use in soy-based infant formula can result in as much as 200 times the level found in natural breast milk!

Such high concentrations can wreak havoc on your baby’s immature metabolic systems.

I rarely talk about absolutes but this is one instant where I will say: NEVER give your child soy formula. (I guess the only exception would be if there was a catastrophe and soy formula was the only food source temporarily available to keep your baby alive.)

Because just like this latest study confirms, high concentrations of manganese, such as those found in soy formula, can lead to brain damage in infants and altered behaviors in adolescents.

In the study reported by Science Daily, researchers discovered that higher concentrations of manganese in groundwater significantly lowered the IQ of the children who drank it, even though the levels were below current guidelines.

A total of 362 children, aged six to 13, living in homes with individual or public wells were examined to test cognition, motor skills and behavior.

Science Daily reports:

“The average IQ of children whose tap water was in the upper 20% of manganese concentration was 6 points below children whose water contained little or no manganese.

The analyses of the association between manganese in tap water and children’s IQ took into account various factors such as family income, maternal intelligence, maternal education, and the presence of other metals in the water.

‚Ķ For co-author Donna Mergler, “This is a very marked effect; few environmental contaminants have shown such a strong correlation with intellectual ability.”

The authors state that the amount of manganese present in food showed no relationship to the children’s IQ.”

For Maximum Health Hazard, Just Add Fluoridated Water…

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are a number of other factors that make soy formula an even more dangerous option.

One of these factors is the fact that fluoride can increase manganese absorption, so if you mix the powdered- or concentrated soy formula with fluoridated water, you’re worsening matters even further!

Fluoride and manganese interact in a number of ways through various pathways.

For example, fluorides can cause zinc deficiency which in turn can cause damage to your brain by altering your manganese levels.

This is because fluorides act as a TSH (thyroid-stimulating-hormone) analogue, and along with iodine, zinc and selenium are also controlled by TSH. And when you’re deficient in zinc, the manganese levels in your brain become altered.

Other Health Dangers of Soy Formula

Another significant issue is the estrogen in soy.

A soy-fed baby receives the equivalent of five birth control pills’ worth of estrogen every day! These babies’ isoflavone levels are typically anywhere between 13,000 to 22,000 times higher than in non-soy fed infants.

Unfermented soy is not a healthy option for anyone, but when you’re feeding soy to an infant, you’re really setting the stage for a number of health problems.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, points out thousands of studies linking soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility—even cancer and heart disease.

For more information about the many ways soy can damage your health ‚Äì and certainly your baby’s, if you’re feeding them soy formula ‚Äì please review this recent report.

It’s also worth noting that at least 91 percent of soy grown in the US is also genetically modified (GM), and this too can have serious health effects.

Not only is the soy loaded with toxic pesticide, the plants also contain genes from bacteria that produce a protein that has never been part of the human food supply. Hence, GM soy has been linked to an increase in allergies.

Disturbingly, the only published human feeding study on GM foods ever conducted verified that the gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of our gut bacteria and continues to function. This means that years after you stop eating GM soy, you may still have a potentially allergenic protein continuously being produced in your intestines.

Even more frightening is the potential for GM soy to cause infertility in future generations, which has been evidenced by recent Russian research.

Soy-based formula also typically includes cornstarch, cornstarch hydrolysate (remember, any corn derivatives are also suspect of being GM), tapioca starch, or sucrose instead of lactose.

(Did you know that many infant formulas actually have MORE sugar than a can of soda? Do you really feel comfortable giving your precious newborn a can of soda for EVERY meal? If not, then it would sure seem best to avoid them ALL like the plague.)

All these things considered, it’s truly shocking that soy formula is even allowed on the market.

The Benefits of Breast Feeding, and Healthier Alternatives

One of the best gifts you can give your child is to start out their life with a sound nutritional foundation, and the best way to do this is by breastfeeding. In fact, statistics show a clear correlation between feeding infants artificial formula and increased infant mortality within the first year.

It’s important to realize that there are at least 400 nutrients in breast milk that are NOT found in formula. Of course, the healthier that a new mom eats, the healthier her breast milk will be, too.

While any amount of breastfeeding is better than none at all, it is clearly to your advantage, and best for your baby’s health, to breastfeed exclusively for at least the first 6 months. Then, at the age of 6 or 9 months, you can begin to supplement with solid foods (while still continuing to breastfeed as well).

What exactly does your baby stand to gain by being breastfed?

Lower risk of respiratory tract and middle ear infections
Lower risk of eczema
Lower risk of obesity
Added protection against heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and allergies
Improved brain function and immune system function
There are benefits to mom, too. The main ones are a reduced risk of chronic diseases like cancer, a faster return to your pre-pregnancy weight, and increased bonding between you and your baby.

There are certain medical conditions that can prevent a woman from breastfeeding, however the majority of women are able to breastfeed successfully. If you need help, contact a lactation consultant in your area for tips and support. You can also visit La Leche League, which is a phenomenal resource for breastfeeding moms.

If for some reason you’re not able to breastfeed, or you have adopted a baby, your next best option is to make a healthy infant formula using raw milk. You can find homemade formula recipes here.

As I stated at the beginning of this article, we’re also in the process of producing the finest infant formula on the market. I’m hoping to have it available in about a year.

How Can You Protect Your Child from Excessive Manganese Exposure?

First and foremost, do not give your child soy formula or other unfermented soy foods.

As for manganese in your well water, your best bet is to use a high quality filtering system using activated carbon. A well designed activated carbon filter system is the simplest, most convenient, and most user friendly option to purify your drinking water.

A good system will likely consist of multiple filter cartridges; one to protect the carbon from larger contaminants in the water, and another containing carbon designed to remove trihalomethanes – a dangerous disinfection byproduct. Some systems also contain a backup carbon filter to ensure that all contaminants have been filtered out